Joining us on the podcast this week is Joe Bielawski – founding member of StateRAMP and President of Knowledge Services – as well as StateRamp Executive Director Leah McGrath. If the name sounds somewhat familiar – like FedRAMP – it should because StateRAMP helps to meet the growing need in state and local government to manage third party risk and efficiently verify cloud security. The organization has an incredible wealth of resources and tools - such as security maturity assessment tool Security Snapshot - that help bring innovation to state/local governments faster. And in just a couple years StateRAMP is already working with 17 states. For those interested in learning more or taking advantage of the awesome resources this organization delivers visit their website at stateramp.org.

Joe Bielawski, Founding Member of StateRAMP – In 2020, Joe Bielawski (President of Knowledge Services) and J.R. Sloan developed the idea of StateRAMP to meet the growing need in state and local government to manage third party risk and efficiently verify cloud security.

Leah McGrath, Executive Director of StateRAMP - Serving as the Executive Director, Leah McGrath has been involved with StateRAMP since its formation. In 2020, she spent countless hours working alongside Steering Committee members to develop StateRAMP's governance and policy framework. Prior to her work with StateRAMP, McGrath held leadership positions in both the public and private sector, including serving as the first deputy mayor of the City of Fishers, Indiana. During her tenure, Fishers transformed from a town into a smart, vibrant, entrepreneurial city and was named the #1 Best Place to Live in America in 2017 by Money magazine. As deputy mayor, she helped lead modernization efforts and spearheaded city-wide efforts to develop the city's first long-range, comprehensive plan. McGrath's 20-year career has been focused on working to improve government outcomes at the state and local level, helping shepherd government into the digital age securely and effectively for the citizens it serves.

For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e217